


Road Not Taken

by nxt2bin



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Boys in Skirts, Fantasy, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, a dump of messy ideas, based off Ever After High, but please read i lov u, idk how to tag im so sorry, jilix bffies, magic. lots, they go by different pronouns so keep it in mind, unbeta’d
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25591411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nxt2bin/pseuds/nxt2bin
Summary: Royals were supposed to have their own happily ever afters and Rebels were supposed to stay hidden beneath the shadows. Felix doesn’t want to be a Rebel, especially to Chan’s story — but that was a concept Chan didn’t seem to understand.Or; Ever After High, but it’s Stray Kids.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Felix, Kim Seungmin/Seo Changbin, Past Bang Chan/Lee Felix
Comments: 4
Kudos: 74





	Road Not Taken

**Author's Note:**

> [ 1 ] Character Reference:  
> \- Bang Chan: Apple White  
> \- Lee Minho: Briar Beauty  
> \- Seo Changbin: Lizzie Hearts  
> \- Hwang Hyunjin: Poppy O’hair  
> \- Han Jisung: Madeline Hatter  
> \- Lee Felix: Raven Queen  
> \- Kim Seungmin: Ashlynn Ella  
> \- Yang Jeongin: Blondie Locks 
> 
> [ 2 ] You don’t need to watch an episode of EAH to understand this fic. I’ll be explaining the things as it passes by~
> 
> [ 3 ] If you aren’t familiar with the characters of Ever After High and need help visualizing them, click [here.](https://www.twitter.com/seoflrts/status/1288487363232972811?s=21)

Felix was focused as he tried to use his powers to summon a crow for reference in his art class. His eyebrows were furrowed as it met on top of his nose, his lower lip caught up in his teeth as he tried to focus. His eyes were shut as he tried his best to visualize the crow he wanted to summon — vivid images in his mind were flashing everywhere. 

Black, velvety feathers, a sharp beak, and blazing red eyes — it was all present in his mind. Puffs of purple and black smoke was emitting from his palm, the smoke illuminating on its own. His veins started to pop out from how much pressure he applied with his hands, any more moment and his nose would bleed. He listened to his Magicology class, trust me — he just couldn’t have a full grasp on his powers. It’s not like he wanted to, anyway. 

“Felix!” Jisung’s head popped out from the side of his door, his purple and mint hair making him distinguishable even if Felix only saw him in his peripheral vision. 

All of Felix’s hard work was gone — the images in his mind disappeared into thin air, the smoke he was previously controlling within his hands has started to rise and dissolve into the atmosphere. Felix closed his fist as he felt his nose trying to betray him. It did. 

“What?” Felix snapped, purple fire emitting from his head as he turned it to look at Jisung who had wide and innocent eyes. “Didn’t I tell you to stop disturbing me when I’m doing something magic related?”

“Well, in my defense, I didn’t really know what you were up to.” Jisung spoke as he closed the door behind him to sit on his bed opposite Felix’s. 

“I’m trying to summon a crow for our arts project.” Felix explained as he walked towards the sink to wash off the blood from his face. “I need a nice reference.”

“Why don’t you just use your powers to create a nice painting?” 

“And risk burning down the dorm and accidentally summon a dragon? No thanks.” The purple haired man said as he grabbed a block of ice from their shared refrigerator and placed it on his nose. 

“Well, you are using your powers right now.” Jisung raised an eyebrow at his roommate. 

“In a lighter way. I didn’t even succeed.” 

“At least you tried! Progress!” Jisung said as he sipped on a cup of tea. Did he use his powers to summon that?

“Chan’s gonna love that.”

The mention of a specific blonde made Felix’s mood go from 10-0 real quick. Not that he isn’t really feeling a ten, anyway. Felix’s didn’t hate him — it’s quite the opposite, actually. 

“I already told him and you several times, Jisung.” Felix scoffed. “I’m not a bad person. I’m not poisoning him with a goddamn apple just because I’m the son of the evil queen and that’s my fate.”

“Oopsie, my bad.” Jisung giggled. Fucking _giggled._ “Chan just wants his happily ever after with his charming prince, that’s all.”

“Ugh, royals with their happy endings.” Felix layed down on his bed. “Making stuff harder for us.”

“Well, not all rebels suffer from bad endings, anyway.” Jisung rolled on his bed. Did he magically make the tea table disappear?

“Easy for you to say, son of the mad hatter.” Felix rolled his eyes. “All you do is act crazy and do things for the queen.”

“Hey! I’m not crazy!” Jisung argued. “I know everything but act like I don’t. That’s how it works.”

“Yeah, right.” Felix adjusted his ice cube that was slowly melting in his cloth. “Oh, by the way, isn’t the queen of hearts’ child a man? Chanjin or something?”

“Changbin.” Jisung laughed. “Yeah, most of us are men. Have you ever seen Changbin? He doesn’t even look half as scary as the queen of hearts. He looks like he can’t harm a flower.”

The two let out a chorus of giggles. “Don’t say that. Next thing you’ll know he’ll be screaming ‘off with your head!’ when he sees you.”

“How are you so sure? You yourself are a rebel but won’t do anything evil.” 

“I hate this system. I truly do.” Felix sighed. 

“Are you attending legacy day practice later?”

“Legacy day? Me?” Felix lets out a sarcastic chuckle. “In your dreams.”

Felix wasn’t lying when Jisung would literally see him in his dreams. In legacy day practice, out of all things. 

You see, Felix isn’t a bad person. Sure, he may be the son of the one who poisoned Snow White and it’s set in stone that he has to do that in the near future — but he really doesn’t want to. Why would he live by his mother’s mistakes?

Most of the students from their university are rebels. Surely, not everyone was evil as they are portrayed to be; they’re just not the main character of their story. It’s always the royals who get privileges. It’s always the royals who get their love-filled kisses and happily ever afters. Rebels were left to rot in the shadows. 

They are the second generation of fairy tales. They follow their parent’s footsteps and retrace their path that was filled with uncertainty — what was the thrill of it now? Felix wasn’t so sure why they had to repeat the story again. No one was sure. 

“I saw you! In my dream!” Jisung excitedly told Felix, who was organizing things from his locker. 

“I guess I should be called ‘man of your dreams,’ then?” Felix’s face scrunched up. “Bad joke, I’m sorry.”

“Anyway,” Jisung ignored Felix’s statement. “You attended legacy day practice there! You were dressed in pretty outfits just like everyone else!” 

“I’m not signing, Sungie.” Felix pursed his lips into a thin smile. “You know that.”

“I know.” Jisung quirked. “But how about Chan?”

“What about me?” The two heads turned into the direction of the voice, meeting his bright eyes. The devil himself had his blonde hair falling down his eyes, his usual red and white attire adorning his buff body. 

“Oh, we’re just talking about the baking competition on your birthday.” Felix lied through his teeth. 

“Oh! Yes! Isn’t it amazing how the whole university throws a baking contest for my birthday? I feel so special!” Chan smiled, his dimples getting deeper. Felix gave Jisung the look, in which the two immediately understood. Chan was rambling about himself again.

“Are you going to join?” Felix snapped his head back into Chan’s direction. “It’s your chance to poison me!”

Not this again. 

“Sorry, Chan,” Felix nervously laughed. “I really don’t want to be a bad guy and poison you.”

“Oh come on!” The elder slightly pushed the youngest’s shoulders. “You’re going to do that soon, anyway.”

“Soon?” Felix scrunched up his face. “Soon’s the new maybe, I guess.”

Chan opened his mouth to talk again, but he was abruptly cut off by the ringing of the bell through the hallways. A lot of students rushed towards their classes, leaving Felix, Jisung, Chan and a few students behind. 

“Oh, I have to get to princessology now.” Chan beamed. “I’ll see you later!”

As soon as Chan was nowhere near Felix’s vision anymore, Felix turned around to see an amused Jisung leaning on his lockers. 

“He’s so infuriating!” Felix began. “It’s so annoying how much he wants me to poison him! I made it clear that I won’t sign the storybook of legends!”

“You can’t blame a princess wanting to find his happy ending~” Jisung teased as Felix puffed out a small breath that made his bangs move. 

“Fuck royals.”

“I, Han Jisung, pledge my fate as the next Mad Hatter.”

Felix stares at his best friend somewhere beneath the shadows. Almost all students of their level were at the stadium to practice their legacy day speeches — well, not really speeches — and everyone was well supervised by the headmaster. Of course, Felix wasn’t there; he only watched from afar and observed how it’s like to stand in front of such a magical book. The two of his hands rested on a corner of a wall he was hiding in, his body hidden and his head was peeking out. 

“Jisung, where’s Felix?” The headmaster asked from afar. The voice was blurry and Felix couldn’t quite understand, but he just knew it was about him. No one seemed to side with him with his decision. 

“He’s resting!” Jisung said in his usual aura. “I think he’s quite tired from his magicology class! I bet he’ll feel hexcellent when he wakes up.”

The headmaster’s face was filled with suspicion. “Sure. Make sure he attends the next practice.”

Felix clenched his fist and jaw, clearly annoyed at the headmaster. He knew Jisung wouldn’t force him, but it still ticked him off that the headmaster is practically controlling him and his fate. He didn’t want that. No one wanted that. 

In response, Felix ran. His platform boots silently hit the smooth surface of the floor, creating an inaudible sound. His purple skirt was flowing from the impact of his speed, he had to clutch on the material to keep it in place. His purple hair was flown aback, his forehead was exposed. He ran and ran until he felt his lungs give out. 

He took deep pants, resting the two of his hands on his knees as he bent a little to catch his breath. His heart was beating so fast from the activity, yet his body still hasn’t wasted a drop of sweat. He looked back for a bit, seeing that the stadium was out of his vision. It made him feel relieved somehow, but it wasn’t enough. He could feel the back of his head pounding in rhythm with his heartbeat — loud and steady. He could practically hear his heart pump, and he needed something to calm it down. He felt too enraged and exhausted and he needed a stress relieving activity. 

The flicker of lights from a certain room in the building in front of him made his head twitch to its direction. It was only on the third floor and it’s easy to go to, but he could already see a figure occupying the room. He hastily fixed his posture and stood up, calmly walking towards his destination in contrast to his raging heartbeat. 

He could see a faint figure moving to the soft volume of the music. His body moved fluidly like water — it was smooth and free flowing. Felix decides to not twist the doorknob his hand was resting on yet. He felt like it was a nuisance for him to enter the room when the other was practically having the time of their life. 

Soon enough, the song began to tune out as the figure started to slow down and walk towards the speakers. Now’s the best time to enter. 

“Hi?” Felix twisted the door knob and stepped in his right foot. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” The man answered, his hair still dripping in sweat as he played a new song on the speakers.

“Am I bothering anything?”

“Oh, no! I’m just having my usual dance routine.” The man answered as he used his towel to dry his face. “Pardon my appearance. I never expected a visitor today.”

“Oh,” Felix laughed nervously. “I just wanted to roam around the campus and I stumbled upon this room.”

“Do you dance?” 

“What?”

“Do you dance?” He repeated. “You could dance with me if you like.”

“I don’t really dance.” Felix said sheepishly. “I’m more of an arts person.”

“I see.” He smiled. “Aren’t you Felix Lee?”

“Does everyone really know who I am?” The purple head ducked his head. “Yeah, I’m Felix. You’re..?”

“Hyunjin. Hwang Hyunjin. One of Rapunzel’s twins.” Something in his eyes flickered, a hint of sadness was there for a second or two. Felix decides to ignore it. 

“You have another twin?” Felix closed the door behind him. “That’s cool!”

“Not really.” The latter said as he stretched his head to the side. “We have a kind of messed up family tree.”

“How so?” Felix pulled out a foldable chair from the side and sat down. “If you’re comfortable telling.”

“She’s Yeji. Hwang Yeji. We’re fraternal twins.” Hyunjin sat down on the cold floor, his legs crossed against the cold, wooden surface. He was still facing the mirror and only looked at Felix through it. 

“Both of you are going to play rapunzel or only one?”

“Prefer not to answer.” Hyunjin laughed. “Kinda uncomfy with that.”

“That’s fine.” Felix reassures him. “How long have you been dancing?”

“Not too long ago.” He responded, rolling his shoulders back. “Just did it for a fun pastime but eventually grew fond of it.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“You with art.” 

“Nothing special, really.” Felix shifted in his seat for a more comfortable position. “It’s just a nice stress-relief activity.”

“It’s nice to have something to do that’s far from your usual routine once in a while.” Hyunjin smiled, one that didn’t reach his eyes too much. “Want me to teach you how to dance?”

“Uh,” Felix stalled. “I don’t… dance?” 

“Uhuh?” Hyunjin crossed his arms. “Everyone can dance. As long as you can move your body.”

“I can try?” It came off as a question more than a response. “I don’t have the equipment to dance right now.”

Hyunjin glanced at Felix who motioned towards his skirt, and Hyunjin made a face of realization. He went towards his bag that was laying near the speakers and rummaged through it. 

“Sorry about that, I didn’t really notice.” Hyunjin laughed, embarrassed. “Catch!”

Felix used the two of his hands to receive the articles of clothing thrown into him, the soft fabric immediately catching his attention. 

“You can change here. I’ll turn around.”

The soft melody of the song playing in the background was faint, but Felix paid no mind to it as he quickly shuffled and shifted away from his usual clothes and wore the clothing thrown to him. He tied the gray sweatpants that rested comfortably on his hips and asjusted the slightly large shirt on him. 

“You can turn around now.”

Hyunjin didn’t — he went to his phone and scrolled through something that Felix couldn’t really see from where he is. After a few clicks, an upbeat melody resonated through the room and Hyunjin turned around with a teasing smile. 

“Put your clothes here quickly! I’m gonna teach you how to free your inner dancer.”

The night went by quicker as much as Felix would like to admit. Sure, he was an amateur dancer, but he felt so free letting loose of his body to ride with the rhythm. He felt so young and happy, all thanks to Hyunjin. 

“I have to go now.” Felix wiped his sweat with his previous fit before Hyunjin made him change. “I’m sort of sleepy.”

“Okay,” Hyunjin laughed. “Visit me next time?”

Felix let out a genuine smile. “Sure.”

The younger continued to dry his face, the soft fabric of his blouse effectively absorbing his perspiration. He felt his heartbeat rage just like how it was before he started dancing — this time, it was a good kind. One that you feel after doing something exhausting but you won’t feel tired as you genuinely enjoy it. 

“I’ll wash your shirt and return it next time.” Felix grinned. “I’ll make sure to carry around a comfortable shirt next time.”

Comfortable shirt? Nah. Dancing might have made Felix feel the most comfortable. 

Unsurprisingly, Felix has begun to pick up with Hyunjin’s habits. They both danced during their free time or whenever they feel like they need a break from all the things happening in their lives. It became their safe haven. 

Felix would usually drop by late at night, or when legacy day practice would come by. He’d tell Jisung to cover up for him, which the elder (by a mere day) agreed on. 

_”Jisung! I have to go somewhere, cover up for me please?”_

_“Okay, where are you heading to, though?”_

_“Somewhere.”_

_Jisung raised his eyebrow._

_“You can’t lie to me. I can hear the narrators.”_

_“Fine,” Felix sighed. “I’m going to dance with Hyunjin.”_

_“Hwang Hyunjin? Twin of Hwang Yeji?” The latter nodded. “You’re dancing? Why didn’t I know that? I feel like a foe.”_

_Felix giggled at the pouty Jisung in front of him. “Just didn’t feel like telling anyone. Only you know I dance.”_

_“With Hwang Hyunjin?”_

_“With Hwang Hyunjin.”_

He found himself once again in the familiar studio where he stumbled upon when he was trying to escape rehearsals. His body danced with the soft jazz tune playing in the background, his hips and arms moving with the beat. He observed himself in the mirror as his body continued to flow like water. 

He closed his eyes, getting lost in the rhythm. He let the feeling of dancing overpower him as he got lost in his own maze. 

“Felix?”

Felix’s eyes fluttered open in an instant, as he fixed his body into his normal posture. 

_I’m expecting Hyunjin! Why is Jeongin here?_

He twisted his body backwards, his eyes meeting Jeongin’s wide and not-so-innocent ones. The younger leaned on the door frame, her arms and legs crossed as her blue and yellow skirt puffed outwards. _I hate royals. Every. Single. One. Of. Them._

“Hey!” Felix internally cringed at his voice. “What’s up?”

“What’s up with _you?_ ” Jeongin tilted her head to the side. “Didn’t know you danced. And moreover, in a… royal’s studio.”

“Royal?” Felix furrowed his eyebrows. “Hyunjin is a rebel. Yeji was born earlier than him.”

“Nuh uh.” Jeongin shook her head. “You got that reversed.”

“What? Hyunjin isn’t a- _oh._ ” It finally clicked. 

“Yeah,” the younger giggled. “Oh indeed.”

“You know, everyone practically knows I host the university’s news show and I write almost all blogs about every small thing in the university.” She walked towards Felix who slightly walked backwards. “I have to know every small detail! Hyunjin and Yeji’s story isn’t really a small thing.”

“Felix! I have something to tell you-“ Hyunjin barged inside the dance studio, his face covered in panic, his eyebrows furrowed as his eyes were down and sad. He was flustered as he saw a not-so-unfamiliar face in his own studio. 

“Speak of the witches!” Jeongin clapped. “Why don’t you ask Hyunjin what happened? I’ll go now! Bears might catch me any time now~”

Felix and Hyunjin awkwardly watched Jeongin skip outside the studio as if she didn’t trespass a while ago. Felix uncomfortably shifted his vision from the floor and Hyunjin, who also seemed uncomfortable. Something in Felix tingled as he got alarmed, he had to go. It wasn’t his studio, anyway. 

“I’m sorry about Jeongin, I think I have to go now. I don’t want you to be uncomfy in your iwn studio.” Felix sheepishly chuckled as he started to walk away. 

“Wait!” Hyunjin called out. “Stay.”

Felix hesitated for a second or two — he gave in. He can’t seem to resist the person who made him fee alive for a bit. 

“Okay.” He voiced out. He sat beside Hyunjin who had his legs crossed and his back rested on the mirror behind him. The song Felix danced to earlier came to a soft halt, the room being filled with silence. 

Hyunjin was looking down at the space between his legs, his hands resting on his knees. He nibbled on his lower lip, concentrating for a bit. After a few (painful) moments of contemplation, he took a deep sigh and faced Felix. 

“I… am not a rebel like you expected me to be.” He began. “Our birth certificates got messed up. I was the one born a few seconds earlier, not Yeji.” 

Felix hummed, signifying that he was listening. Hyunjin got the cue and continued. “That’s the reason why I get uncomfortable when the royals and rebels system are mentioned. Sorry for that.”

“No need to be sorry.” Felix reassured. “No one can control that. It’s fine, really.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you firsthand. You had to find out from Jeongin.”

“Jeongin knows everything.” The both of them laughed silently. “Kind of throws me off that he has to publicly announce that, though. By the way, I swear I didn’t let Jeongin in. He used his powers to enter. Sometimes I wonder what it’s like to be the son of Goldilocks.”

“He’s got a pretty useful power, not going to lie. And also, it’s not like we can hide that forever.” Hyunjin shifted in his seat, extending his feet down the floor. “It’s our fate. My fate.”

“Fuck fates, honestly.” Felix let out a breathy laugh. “They’re forcing good people to become evil for the sake of the story.”

Felix paused. “If it makes you better, I don’t want to sign the book too.”

“Everyone knows that.” Hyunjin retorted.

“Yeah, but it really sucks because I have to sign it for the people around me. I can’t risk hurting anybody just because I don’t want my fate.”

“That’s very… kind of you.” Hyunjin hesitated for a second. 

“And I hate that for me.” The younger chuckled. “Can’t do shit in magicology.”

A moment of silence passed by the two, one that was comfortable. No more awkward tensions, just the both of them sitting in a lone studio, enjoying each other’s powers. 

“It feels weird to actually admit this but…”

“But?”

“I…” Felix hesitates. Hyunjin sensed his hesitation and placed his hand on the latter’s shoulder, attempting to tell him that he could take his time. 

“I like Chan.”

_What?_

“He’s just so, I don’t know, perfect? Everyone loves him. Even animals. And it sucks that I have to poison him in the future when I don’t even intend to do it.”

“I get what you feel.” Hyunjin reassures him. “Is that the real reason why you don’t want to sign?”

“Part of it.” 

“That’s okay.” Hyunjin rested his head on the younger’s shoulder. “It will be okay.”

“I wish it would be.”

“Hey Chan, don’t you think Felix gets too tired from all those projects he’s working on? It’s not even that time of the year when the professors bombard us with projects.”

“Hmm?” Chan called out as he was feeding a random bird sitting on the window nearby. “Maybe he just wants to work early.”

“What subject is he working on, anyway?”

“I think it was literature class?” Chan dusted his hands. “Not really sure. Felix doesn’t talk a lot.”

_Literature class? We’re blockmates there. I’m pretty sure Professor Grem hasn’t given us a heavy task yet._

Minho squinted her eyebrows in suspicion. She was definitely sure she wasn’t dozing off at some point in the class where the professor announced a project she isn’t sure of. She loved that class in particular — she would probably wide awake no matter what time that class would be. 

At Minho’s peripheral vision, she could see the familiar heads of Felix and Jisung. Jisung’s hair isn’t really that common, he would be easy to spot in a large crowd. Who else would have mint hair with purple highlights and a small teacup in their head on purpose? Definitely Jisung. 

Minho couldn’t quite decipher what the two were talking about from afar. The hallways were slightly crowded and a bit rousey — it was decent for a normal one-on-one conversation, but definitely not enough for you to hear what other royals and rebels are talking about from the other side. 

“— I swear, I’m so close to burning Jeongin’s hair that time.” Felix snarled, a small puff of purple flames blazing from his temples. 

Jisung giggled. “She’s naturally loud. I was surprised because Goldilocks seems and needs to be quiet for the bears to not catch her but oh well.”

“I feel bad for Hyunjin,” Felix sighed. _What does Hyunjin have to do with Felix and Jeongin?_

“He’ll manage that.” Jisung answered, one of the sides of his lips curling up into a lazy smile. “He has to manage a lot of hair, after all.”

“—inho? Minho? Earth fairies to Minho?” Chan snapped his fingers in front of her. She was startled for a bit, her body slightly jerking backwards. 

“Were you dozing off again?” Seungmin, another friend of hers whom she didn’t know when they arrived.

“Sorry, can’t help it.” She lied through her teeth, laughing awkwardly. “Second gen Sleeping Beauty, after all.”

Minho couldn’t help it. Something inside her was tingling, like she has fairies flying all over. She had to know what’s going on. 

And so she did. 

Once she saw that Seungmin was peacefully sleeping in their shared dorm, she immediately changed quietly and went outside. She didn’t know where to go specifically, but she was sure she’d pick up things on the way. 

She wore her sneakers, in contrast to her usual boots or heels. She didn’t feel like looking too fashionable for roaming around the campus at an ungodly time. She walked through the dimly lit hallways, a few fireflies lighting up the area. 

In contrast to how magical their university looked like when the sun was up, it looked simpler now. Some of the flowers have grown small under the moonlight, some of the features of the school disappeared during the night. 

She walked as quietly as possible, as the light of the stars slightly hit her face occasionally as she walked past several windows. There were still a handful of students who were up at this time, and Minho silently laughed as she imagined how Seungmin would look once the clock hit twelve. 

Soon enough, Minho had already stepped her foot outside their dorm castle. She stuffed her hands on the pockets of her parka, seeking warmth within the cold, chilly night. Her brown hair fell slightly on her forehead, and her pink highlights were not as obvious in the dark compared to how it was during the day. 

She walked by the campus, observing the enormous castles, building and infrastructures. It really does seem like it was pulled straight out of a fairytale. There were large trees, several pixies flying all over. She loved it. 

She glanced at the stadium from far away. She heaved out a sigh as her eyes turned dull from having it usually pointed and sharp. 

It’s only a matter of a few more years before they start living their fate. It may be a blessing to most students (especially Chan), but it’s mostly a curse for rebels. Minho isn’t a rebel, but she hesitated to sign the book. She didn’t want to sleep for an entire century — she’d lose all her friends. All of that for a damned price charming that she never wanted to have in the first place. 

The thought made her tear up by just a bit. She looked up to the sky, hoping that the tears would somehow go back. 

_Chan, Seungmin._ She whispered beneath the sky. _I’ll miss you both. So, so much._

It hurts. It was a thought that often crossed her mind. She’d miss out all the fun in the world, she’d witness the world change while her eyes were closed. Moreover, she’d never see her friends again when she wakes up. 

She feels just like how Felix feels when he said he didn’t want to sign. She could feel her pain and doubt of what may happen in the future. She’s afraid. 

Her footsteps came to a halt in front of a large building. She didn’t know how she arrived there — her thoughts preoccupied her mind so much that she unconsciously went to places. 

She raised up her vision, glancing at the several glass panes on the wall. She could faintly see a handful of students occupying art rooms and dance studios — she was even surprised to see Ryujin, the daughter of the Cheshire cat, occupying the music studio and playing a guitar. 

She walked inside the building with ease, a few fairies scanning her before she entered. She walked upwards using the flight of stairs where the steps were floating pieces of wood — fortunately, it was sturdy. 

She peeked through every single occupied room, hoping to bump to either Jeongin, Hyunjin, or Felix for answers. There was no luck as of the moment, until an occupied dance room on the fourth floor caught his attention. 

She walked towards the room silently, peeking her head on the small glass pane that separated the room from the hallways. 

She was decently surprised as she saw Felix dancing with Hyunjin. She couldn’t quite decipher the song they’re dancing to as the walls were soundproof, she could only observe from the window. 

She was mesmerized as she saw Felix dancing with ease, his joints propping up into various angles. Hyunjin seemed to mimic his movements as their bodies were synchronized with the same actions. 

Minho took her sweet time to watch the two. It did seem quite creepy, but she genuinely liked to watch them perform. The answers could wait, it seemed like the two were genuinely enjoying themselves. She didn’t want to intrude—

_What in the world is that?_

The door opened and slammed right in her face, and she could practically feel her nose breaking. She scrunched up her face and winced as she held onto her nose. Her eyes were screwed shut as she stumbled backwards. 

Felix raised an eyebrow at him once she fluttered her eyes open. He held an unamused look on his face, while Hyunjin dumbly looked at her with his eyes slightly squinted. 

“Hey Felix! And Hyunjin, haha.” Minho awkwardly greeted him. “Fancy to see you both here.”

“Mhmm,” Felix retorted, unamused. “What are you doing here, Minho? Aren’t you supposed to be asleep by now?”

“Hey!” Minho slightly raised her voice. “I don’t sleep 24/7. Not right now, anyways.”

The two continued to stare at her. “I went here just to visit Ryujin! I just stumbled upon you two and decided to peek a bit.”

“‘Peek a bit’,” Felix chuckles. “Sure, Minho.”

Minho didn’t know how, but the pink sunglasses she always wore on her head fell and rested on her nose. She didn’t realize it until she saw that the lights were more pinkish than usual. She always carried those around as it helped her fight drowsiness. 

“I’m sorry!” Minho squeaked out. “I just overheard something about the literature project and I’m pretty sure I missed that out and I want to ask about it.”

It was not a lie. It’s just not the full truth. Minho’s inner fairy was screaming at her to tell the two the whole truth. Her conscience was eating her up but she couldn’t manage to let out a word. 

“About that,” The purple head started. “It was a lie. It’s just an excuse for me to dance with Hyunjin.”

“Oh!” She scratched her head. “If that’s the case, I’ll be going then!”

She turned her heel and started to walk away, but Felix’s voice stopped her from going. “Minho!”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t tell Chan. Or anyone, really. I’d like to keep this beneath the flowerbeds.” 

Minho contemplated for a bit. She pressed a thin smile and responded. “Okay.”

“Do you want to…” Hyunjin called out. Both heads faced him as he shyly continued his sentence. “Join us?”

“Join you where?” Minho asked, confused. 

“Here in the studio? We can teach you how to dance. Not forcing you, though.”

Minho politely smiled and waved her hand. “I’m not a physical person. Thanks for the offer, though.”

And a pair of pink sunglasses fell beneath her grasp, the material hitting the floor softly, away from her shoes. 

It was another normal day in the dorms. Felix was there, his nose buried in a fantasy book that made and will make him tear up. He loved the character too much for her to die of some random sickness. 

Felix laid on his stomach, his feet lifted up in the air as a fluffy pillow supported his shoulder and head. His chin rested comfortably on the material. 

Meanwhile, Chan, who was on the other side of the room, was talking to Seungmin and Minho through their devices and the mirrornet. They were talking about random things Felix didn’t quite pay attention to; his book was way more interesting than whatever the royals are talking about. 

“Yoohoo,” Jisung peeked his head from the door, similar to when he barged into Felix trying to summon a bird. “Big summer blowout.”

“You’re not the son of the owner of the shop in Jeongyeon and Nayeon’s story.” Felix retorted as he spared Jisung a glance. He could see that Chan paid no mind to the unexpected visitor — it’s not like Jisung didn’t appear from door-to-door previously, anyway. 

“Anywayyy!” Jisung grinned as he jumped into Felix’s bed, the younger scolding him as he almost missed his page. “I heard that Jeongin dropped the bomb about Hyunjin and Yeji already.”

“Oh?” Felix shut his book after marking it with a stray feather. “When?”

“Last night!” Jisung said, excitedly. He was really crazy. “When she was the news anchor for the Tuesday program.”

“I feel sorry for Hyunjin.” Felix rolled and laid on his back. “Poor royal got played by the system.”

“Hyunjin’s the only royal you consent to.” Jisung laughed. 

“He’s not an asshole. And he’s a nice person.”

“Are other royals not nice?”

“Eh. They’re tolerable.” The two of them laughed. 

“By the way, legacy day practice is later again. Are you..?”

“Nope. No. Never.” Felix denied within the blink of an eye. 

“Okay.” Jisung chirped. 

“You know where to find me.”

“Hey, Lix, I think you left something behind here yesterday.”

“Hmm?” Felix bit his lips. “I don’t think anything’s missing.”

“This isn’t yours?” Hyunjin waved a pair of pink sunglasses in front of his face, one that seemed familiar. 

Felix tried his best to remember where he saw the familiar accessory, until it clicked that Minho _did_ drop by yesterday. And she definitely had that pair with her yesterday. 

“I think that’s Minho’s.” Felix replied. “Who else would own a pink pair of sunglasses with roses in its frame?”

“Point.” Hyunjin laughed. “Who’s going to return it?”

“I would. Chan and her are practically glued to the hip. I’d stumble upon her soon.”

“Okay.” Hyunjin chirped as he tossed the pair to Felix, who caught it swiftly. He put the pair safely in his bag. “She’s bound to realize that sooner. She can’t survive an hour without feeling sleepy.”

Well, speaking of the witches, Minho did, in fact, ‘realize’ her glasses were missing. 

“Seungmin!” She called them. “Did you see my sunglasses? The one I carry everywhere.”

“No?” They answered, looking upwards while thinking. “I saw you wearing them before heading to bed yesterday.”

Minho crossed her arms and tapped the side of her chin in thought. A lightbulb went off her head as she remembered where she went last night. 

The dance studio. 

She pulled out her university tablet and typed in Felix’s name. She couldn’t risk losing her glasses now that they have a two-hour legacy day practice, she’ll undoubtedly feel drowsy anytime. 

_Felix! I think I left my glasses at your studio. I have legacy day practice in like, twenty minutes. Can you drop it by for a bit? I can’t risk to doze off in the middle of rehearsals._

Minho pressed send, the thought bubble turning blue as it went through the chat box. Their previous conversation was a couple of months ago, something about a random project about their shared class which Minho couldn’t really remember. 

Soon enough, the message was marked as seen. Felix’s profile photo popped up with a typing bubble, and Minho really wished he would be kind enough to drop by. 

_Okay. I’ll be there in a sec._

Minho heaved out a sigh of relief as her plan worked.

“I’ll be right back.” Felix said to Hyunjin as he went over his bag to grab Minho’s glasses. 

“Wait… Are you going to visit Minho? While she’s in legacy day rehearsals?”

Felix paused. He didn’t think that through. “I’ll be quick. The headmaster wouldn’t even notice I dropped by.”

Well, needless to say — Felix jinxed it. He was now in front of the headmaster who had his arms crossed and gray bushy eyebrows raised at him. 

“Nice to see you here, Felix Lee.” 

For a moment, Chan’s eyes glistened as he saw Felix in the rehearsals. However, the glint immediately faltered as Felix began to speak. 

“Oh!” Felix laughed nervously as he glanced at Minho who was standing behind the headmaster, together with the other students who’ll participate in legacy day. “I just came to drop by Minho’s glasses! I have to work on a project right now.”

“Which subject? I’m certain that the other professors haven’t given out any yet. It’s only the beginning of the semester.”

He had to think fast. He couldn’t get caught right now. “I’ve been helping Hwang Hyunjin in dance.”

“Helping?” The headmaster scoffed. “You’re a rebel. You aren’t supposed to be helping people.”

“Well, yeah?” Felix said, as if he was stating the obvious. “Just because I am a rebel doesn’t mean I can’t be good.”

“You aren’t supposed to.”

“That’s my choice to make.” Felix made a lopsided smile and walked past the headmaster to hand over Minho’s glasses. 

“We’re talking right now, Minho.” Felix said, stern. He grabbed Minho’s wrist and dragged her out of the crowd, leaving most speechless. The headmaster squinted his eyes, suspicion clouding his mind. 

Chan looked at the two, confused. He didn’t know what was happening. 

Felix continued to drag Minho around, making them stay at a secluded place away from the crowd. Felix released his grip on her wrist and turned around. The latter had a slightly pained expression on her face, slightly feeling pain from all the dragging. 

“Don’t act innocent, Minho.” The purple head warned. “I know you set me up.”

“I…” Minho hesitated. “I’m sorry.”

Felix sighed, as his sharp eyes turned into soft ones. “I’m not mad, Minho. I just want to know why.”

“I can’t do it.” Minho voices out. Her voice grew smaller by seconds. 

“Can’t do what?”

“Can’t stand to see Chan physically and emotionally hurting.” Felix furrowed his eyebrows at the sudden mention of a royal. 

“What does Chan have to do with this?”

“He’s hurting. Badder than the wolves from Jihyo’s story.” Minho began. “Chan… he’s having a hard time doing activities he usually does with ease. We don’t know why or how it started — it just did. And it hurts. It hurts that he has to suffer from all of these.”

“We tried to observe what were the possible reasons why it started.” Minho’s vision wandered in the background. “He suddenly clutches onto me or Seungmin at the most random times. He claims that his heart feels like burning.”

“So we tried to reach out to the university fairy godmother to check up on her.” Minho’s voice began to become shaky. “And the reason why he’s hurting is because there’s no assurance of what will happen to him in the future. And the reason behind that is you.”

“Chan’s… hurting because of me?”

“Yes!” Minho said, exasperated. “And I can’t stand seeing him suffer because I love him too much.”

Minho loves Chan. And it’s what she was implying. 

“That’s the reason why I set you up so you can attend and sign. Because I don’t want him to suffer any longer.”

“Look, Minho — as much as I’d like to help Chan, me not signing the book won’t help him recover fully.” Felix carefully said. “It’s the school nurse who said that. Every staff of this school was most likely told to do everything just to make me sign by the headmaster.”

“How can you be so selfish?” Minho said, bitterly. “You are the reason why he’s hurting! Can’t you understand that?”

“And you think Yuna is hurting right now because it’s _you_ who doesn’t want to sign?” Felix snarled. “The world doesn’t revolve around you royals. Without rebels, you all are _nothing._ And Yuna’s fate is to set up the needle for you to be pricked on. Do you think she’s suffering right now because you don’t want to sign?”

Minho fell silent. Her eyes were down, her lips agape. “I—”

“Of course you don’t.” Felix calmly said. “I know you don’t want to sign because you’ll never meet your friends again. And I understand that. That’s the reason why you like to attend every party the university offers, right?”

“Chan’s suffering from something else. Maybe I am a factor, but I’m sure I’m not the sole reason.”

“Talk it out with Chan, yeah? Maybe tell him what your heart beats for, too.”

“I can’t.” Minho breathes out. “We’re both royals. We have different stories. I _can’t._ ”

“You’ll never know unless you try.”

“Hyunjin?” Felix called out while the said boy was fixing up their things from the studio. 

“Yeah?” 

“I think… I want to sign.”

Hyunjin freezes from the sudden statement. “Out of the blue?”

“Minho may have told me some things earlier.” Felix began, playing with the hem of his shirt. “Chan’s hurting. I don’t fully believe that I’m the reason, but it made me think.”

Hyunjin hummed, signifying Felix to continue. He stopped fixing his things in courtesy. 

“It won’t… last forever.” He mumbled. “Our fate, I mean. It’s only for a while. And Chan’s guaranteed with a happy ending even if I do something bad at him.”

“What about you?”

“Me?” Felix laughed, lifeless. “I don’t deserve a happy ending.”

“Don’t say that.” Hyunjin argued. “Everyone deserves a happy ending.”

“There’s no ‘happy’ in this world, Hyunjin.” Felix softly said. “The end is only the beginning. Sure, in the storybooks Chan may already have a happy ending, but no one knows what happens later. Would he continue to be the second generation Snow White? Would he be brought back in the real world after? No one knows. Chan wouldn’t probably hold a grudge against me either way.”

“That’s very kind of you, Lix.” Hyunjin chuckled. “I’m happy for whatever path you’ll take.”

“And I hope you’ll take a path that will make you happy, too.”

Much to Chan’s excitement, Felix did, in fact, start to attend legacy day rehearsals. Even though he fully didn’t want to, he still did his best to attend and warm up to his fate. It’s not like he can escape, anyway. 

The headmaster was decently surprised, yet happy nonetheless. All of those endless nagging finally paid off. The entities of the school were shocked when Jeongin announced Felix’s decision. Felix was really known as “Felix, the guy who’ll poison Chan in the future but he doesn’t want to,” and not really as “Felix, who fully accepts his fate.”

Felix was currently sitting in the stadium, paying no attention to the current students who were declaring their fate in practice. He currently has Jisung and Hyunjin beside him. He was surprised as Hyunjin also began to attend the rehearsals with Felix, and he’s happy that the latter decided to join him. It felt reassuring. 

The rehearsals went smoothly, it’s currently the third time Felix attended and nothing much has really changed. They all practiced every week, and nothing much happened apart from the students starting to memorize and say their lines smoothly. Before even Felix knew it, it was already his turn to speak. 

“I, Felix Lee,” he began. “pledge my fate as the next Evil Queen.” 

There weren’t any fancy lines they had to remember — Felix wonders how dumb can the other students be for messing up simple lines. 

He walked down the stage, exiting peacefully as Chan followed him. He didn’t really know why he and Chan were the last people who’ll pledge. 

Chan’s introduction went by in a blur. Before he even knew it, they all were done with the rehearsals. He was about to stand up until the headmaster spoke up. _What is it this time?_

“Students, since the Legacy Day will be in two weeks from now, we’ll be holding a different rehearsal next week.” The headmaster spoke, his voice radiating from the speakers. “We’ll be practicing your fates.”

A chorus of gasps and murmurs radiated through the crowd, obviously stunned from the sudden announcement. What does he mean by practicing their fates?

“There’s a place near the woods outside the campus where a museum is visible. In there, you can find whatever item your parents have left behind for you to use. The Storybook of Legends is also stored there. You can take a glance if you’d like.” 

“We’ll go by batches. Each can go through the book and witness their fates. That’s all, have a pleasant week.”

“What does he mean by that?” Hyunjin whispered on Felix’s left ear. 

“I’m not entirely sure. I guess we just have to find out next we—”

“Headmaster means we’ll temporarily live our fates next week!” Jisung exclaimed from Felix’s right. 

“Oh?” Felix laughs nervously. “That’s nice…”

Hyunjin creeped up his hand to hold Felix’s shaky ones. It’s a nice gesture for him to silently tell Felix that everything will be okay. Hyunjin was also nervous too, but no one needed to know that.

Hyunjin was wrong. He was nervous as hell. 

He tossed and turned in his bed, attempting to find a comfortable position for sleep to lull uim good night. Unfortunately, his mind wandered off many places and he was wide awake. So many thoughts flew in his head like the birds who migrate during winter. He was wide awake. 

He knew what would take his mind off the things he was thinking of. Sure, it’s already midnight — but he wasn’t Seungmin for him to rush back on their dorms for whatever hideous reason. He needed a break. 

He shuffled the sheets covering his body and peeked at his twin peacefully sleeping in the opposite side of the room. Yeji’s peaceful, and Hyunjin wa ssure she won’t wake up anytime soon. 

Hyunjin tossed the sheets off of him and stood up. He went to the all familiar place where him (and Felix) relieved their stress. 

Turns out, Felix was there, too. He isn’t particularly dancing, he’s just sitting there. He didn’t question how the younger one entered as Hyunjin gave him a spare key so he can enter anytime — both of them practically own the studio now. 

Felix was there, a soft melody of a piano playing in the background as he silently stared into empty space. His vision drifted from that to Hyunjin who just entered the studio, his hair ruffled and his clothes were just a simple t-shirt and pants. 

“Can’t sleep too?” Felix asked him as the elder sat beside him.

“Yep.” Hyunjin popped the ‘p.’ “Kind of nervous for tomorrow. Or later? I don’t know what time it is right now.”

“It’s later.” Felix replied. “Kind of nervous too. I mean, who would be excited to possibly kill someone, right?”

“Changbin would.” Hyunjin joked. “Always trying to find an excuse to say ‘off with your heads!’”

“You really do like to tease Changbin, huh?” Felix chuckled as he shifted in his seat.

“It’s nice to see her get angry. I don’t know, it just feels nice.” Hyunjin laughed. “Weird, I know.”

“Not at all.” The younger answered. “I honestly want to see Jisung mad. He’s always bubbly and… well, crazy.”

“He probably won’t get mad even if he’s the future Mad Hatter.” Hyunjin cringed at his own joke. “Do you have any other close friends than Jisung?”

“Not really. I think most of the school hates me because apparently I’m one of the ‘most evil people’ in this universe.” Felix quoted, raising two of his fingers to make air quotations. 

“Don’t mind them.” Hyunjin calmly said. “I know you’re not that kind of person.”

The two continued to talk and talk until they eventually saw the sunrise beaming from the window. The sunlight shone directly on the wooden floor of the studio, the brown color slightly reflecting on their faces. The rays were too bright as they could practically see the dust floating in the air. 

Felix stood up and walked near the small window where he first saw Hyunjin. He observed the bright sun as it rose. His eyes were slightly squinted as he used his right hand to cover his eyes from the direct sun. He could feel Hyunjin shuffle from behind him as he stood behind him, also admiring the landscape. 

“Well that took us too long.”

“Indeed.” Hyunjin chuckled. “Guess we’re running on zero sleep today huh?”

“I could definitely sneak in a small nap in Professor Yaga’s class.” Felix grinned. “She never notices Minho sleep even if she’s drooling right in front of her.”

“Good luck, then.” Felix turned around to face Hyunjin. “And for later, too.”

“You’ll do great.”

“I wish.” Felix sighed. “I wonder what my mom left for me in the museum.”

“Probably a mirror.” Felix scrunched his nose at Hyunjin’s response. 

“Are you saying I should fix my looks more?”

“No!” Hyunjin raises his voice for a bit. “Because… You know, magic mirror?”

Felix hummed. “Makes sense.”

“Of course I would.” Hyunjin snickered. 

“Don’t get so full of yourself.” Felix laughed. “Rapunzel probably left you a hair brush or scissors.”

“Hey!” Hyunjin squinted his eyebrows. “At least I would put it to use. You know, the best stylist in the university.”

“Okay ‘best stylist in the university,’ kindly explain your fit right now.” Hyunjin glanced at his plain shirt and pants that were pointed by the younger. 

“In my defense, I literally got out of bed just to go here.” 

“Okay, okay.” Felix laughed. “I think we have to go now. The gnomes are probably awake by now.”

The students were already inside the museum. The walls were made of shining quartz, there were intricate gold details and gems plastered for design. Felix’s shoes hit the tiles, creating a soft clicking sound — which was overpowered by the constant murmuring of the crowd. 

All were scattered, each heading into their own station. There were paintings of their parents hung on the wall, each possessing a grayscale palette. Their faces were painted sophisticatedly with a significant object present in the photo — for Felix, it was a mirror. Of course it would be that object. 

Felix walked closer to his mom’s painting, whereas a podium was plastered in front. The painting grew taller and taller as he walked closer, and he stood in front of the white podium where a black wand was placed. It was encased in a glass box, no opening or locks placed. Felix scrunched his eyebrows as he didn’t know how to get the wand from the podium. He waved his hand in front of the box but there was no avail; he tried to rest his fingertips on the material, and there it was. 

Purple and black smoke emitted from the podium and wrapped around Felix’s figure — similar to how Felix tried to use his black magic to summon a bird a month ago. Felix let his eyes flutter closed as the museum and his friends and foes began to disappear and the smoke began to cloud his vision. He felt like floating and being lifted off the ground, he felt his skirt slightly rising as air blew it away somehow. 

“To Felix Lee, my only son,” A female voice echoed throughout the small, clustered area in which he immediately recognized as his own mother. He opened his eyes and he met a blurry illusion of his own mother, a black silhouette hidden beneath the puff of smoke. Her eyes glowed with a shade of mystic purple, radiating light for the small area. 

“I left you a wand. You must probably know how the story flows — now, I want you to ruin the story. Cast a tiny spell on your apple with the wand and make sure Snow White’s son will never see the light of the world again.” A chaotic and evil laugh echoed, making Felix wince and cover his ears. The vision and smoke began to fade from the background as he realized he was back in the museum, together with his batchmates in their respective podiums. He could feel his heart race, but paid no attention to it as he carefully exhaled and observed the wand underneath his fingertips. 

The wand was black with silver linings encircling it. There were small purple gems stitched onto the wooden material, and it sparkled under the light. It looked so pretty — so expensive, yet Felix cannot bring himself to imagine him using the object to do such a grave act. 

Jisung walked near him, his usual heart-shaped smile on his face as he strutted towards his direction. “Lix! What did you get?”

“A wand.” Felix answered plainly. 

“That’s spell-tacular!” Jisung beamed as he clutched his gloved-covered hands underneath his face. “I got a tea set from dad! I love the new designs! It’s just so… mad!”

“That’s awesome, Sung.” The younger let out a small smile. “I’m happy for you.”

“Alright, students, gather around.” The headmaster called. “We’ll start the dry run in two hours. You’re free to roam around or even leave the area for a bit, just make sure you’ll be here in a couple of hours. No need to worry about taking turns in experiencing your fates, time works differently in the other universe.”

With that being announced, most of the students left the museum. It was almost sunset, the sun was almost down and the skies weren’t as blue as it is in the day. It was more of a gray and dull color — it would turn black any moment now. Fairies started to appear from the forest beside the museum, providing a tad bit of light for the students. 

Felix was outside the museum, but didn’t make any effort to go inside the campus. He just sat on the white, marble staircase in the entrance, his elbows resting on his knees as his left hand was draped over it. He used his right hand to support his leaning face. 

“Hey,” Hyunjin called out. He had a familiar red-head beside him, a gold crown sitting on her head as she stood beside the younger. 

“Hey.” Felix responded, scooting by just a bit to give the two some space to sit on. 

“Meet Changbin. You know, son of the Queen of Hearts.” Hyunjin chuckled. Felix gave out a faint smile as Changbin still had a stern expression on her face. 

“Be nice.” Hyunjin elbowed Changbin in the side, resulting in the elder squinting her eyes more. 

“Whatever.” Changbin stated, wherein Felix had an amused look on his face and Hyunjin looked somewhat disgusted. Changbin could definitely pass as a rebel. She was more evil than Felix is. 

“Anyway,” Hyunjin cleared his throat. “Why are you so down?”

“Nothing much,” it was a lie. “Just nervous. That’s all.”

“That’s okay.” Hyunjin chirped. “You’re okay.”

Changbin still had her posture perfectly, her back straightened as her crown was glistening under the fairy lights. Her black and red skirt rested on her thighs delicately, her legs were slightly slanted against the stairs as her heels gave her extra height. A red heart was tattooed on her right eye, covering a quarter of her face. She looked beautiful, definitely passing the standards of a queen. 

Felix stood up, dusting his black skirt as Hyunjin jerked his head away for his privacy. “Where are you going?”

“Inside the museum.” He responded. “Just want to roam around again.”

Hyunjin nodded, nudging the royal beside him and motioned for her to stand up as well. The walked inside the museum again, now torched being lit up and illuminating the room. 

When you enter the museum, you could see a large book in the distance. It was like a groom standing in the altar waiting for his bride to walk down — it looked so special. It was a larger version of the Storybook of Legends, it was supported with gold hinges on the bottom corners. Felix found himself walking towards the large book, his hands grazing over the soft, leather material. 

His hand landed on a gold lock where you could insert a key — he raised his eyebrows, curious of what the book may bring them. 

_Must be for the dry run later._ Felix thought. 

“Need help opening that lock?” A voice from above them spoke. The three of them jumped back, startled. 

“Jeongin!” The said blonde haired boy was sitting on top of the book for the spirits to know how long. “What’s up?”

“Me.” Jeongin giggled. “Quite literally. Anyway, do you need help opening that orrr..?”

“We should try opening that.” A voice echoed in the hallways, further startling the three (now four, but Jeongin wasn’t really surprised as he can see the trio enter from where she is) from their presence. 

“Oh, Chan, Minho and Seungmin.” Felix laughed, more nervousness leaking from his tone. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Just want to explore around.” Minho answered. “Maybe there’s something hex-citing here for us to see!”

“Who knows? We might see anything mad and astonishing here!” Seungmin chirped. 

“Did anyone just say ‘mad?’ I’m here!” Jisung peeked his head from behind the book, giggling lightly. 

“So… do you need help, Felix?” Jeongin waved her hair pin in front of him. 

“Uhhh… sure?” Felix answered, unsure. Jeongin beamed, jumping from the top of the book to the floor. She stepped her foot on the gold hinges that support the book and inserted her trusty hairpin in an attempt to open the book. Being the son of Goldilocks surely had its perks. 

After a few twisting and turning here and there, a gear shifted inside the book, creating a loud sound. The large, oval mirror designed on the surface of the book glowed yellow, and the eight of them had to use their hands to cover the light from directly shining on their faces. 

Jeongin reached out her hand to the light, and her hand disappeared beneath the light. Her eyes glistened as she let out a sly smile, jumping inside the bright light. 

“Jeongin!” Felix called out, but it was too late. She already disappeared inside the book. Before Felix could even process the situation, Jisung jumped in the bright light and disappeared into thin air too. 

_What?_ He thought. His body moved to its own accord and jumped in the book too, followed by the rest of the five. 

Felix prepared himself from the impact, but he landed on his two feet safely. He stood up properly and observed the place; it was golden and they were surrounded by large books. Rolls of paper were scattered everywhere, and they were all standing cluelessly. 

“There are eight books!” Jisung exclaims. “And there’s eight of us.”

“So one book is our story?”

“Most likely!” Jeongin laughed. 

“But Changbin and Jisung are in the same story, though.”

“Maybe the point of view changes?” 

“Maybe.” Seungmin shrugged. 

“But how do we know which one is ours?” 

“Guess we’ll have to find out.” Felix whispered underneath his breath. 

He walked towards the nearest book within him, and he grazed his fingers over the pages. 

“Ready?”

“Let’s go!”

Felix opened the book he held in front of him and he was sucked in another universe. He felt like falling into an endless pit — he closed his eyes as he let himself fall. His hair and hands were flying upwards as his body felt like laying down, his skirt flying all over the place. 

“Where am I?” Jeongin wondered. “This is surely not my universe.”

A chorus of marches were heard from afar and Jeongin lifted herself up on her knees to peek over the bush. Her eyes widened as she saw the feared Queen of Hearts — the queen snapped her head in her direction and screamed. 

“Off with your head!”

A giant wall filled with a painting of the city greeted Hyunjin’s vision as he opened his eyes. His heart ached as the masterpiece was too familiar, too close to his heart. 

He was at his story. 

The one he dreads. 

Jisung found himself being summoned outside a large cottage. He was seated on a wooden chair, one that was made out of logs from the woods. The sky was dark, no clouds, stars, sun or moon present — just him in front of three bowls of porridge. 

_Three bowls of porridge._ He was in Jeongin’s story. 

Jisung was so tempted to take a bite, not until a loud roar and rumble was heard from afar. 

Felix found himself in his own story. But not in the way he expected it to be. 

Once he fluttered his eyes open, seven dwarves were staring down at him. 

Panic arose in his chest as he shot up and sat on his (well, Chan’s) bed, and the dwarves all had a happy glint in their eyes. 

“You’re awake!” A dwarf exclaimed. “We have a costumer! Quick!”

 _A costumer? Why would I have— oh._

A dark, cloaked figure was knocking on his small cottage. A basket was hung on her arms, one that was filled with the fruits he was the one who was supposed to poison from. 

Apples. 

Jeongin got up, filled with determination. All she had to do was finish the story for her to go back. 

She ran until she saw a familiar figure standing in a distance. Determination filled her veins as she ran towards her. All she had to do was provoke her to join a tea party. 

“Alice!” Jeongin called. The blonde haired girl turned back as she heard her name being called. 

Jeongin was almost near her, her legs were shaking as she wasn’t used to so much physical activity. It was only a matter of a few more steps and she reached her. 

Well, not until the servants of the queen dragged Alice from the garden and brought her to court. 

Jeongin was at the trial. 

All she had to do was watch, right?

Chan was shaking. He wasn’t evil. He’s a royal. He had to become the epitome of kindness. 

But there he was, his body covered in a black cloak. The material was draping over his shoulders as his hand gripped into a woven basket filled with apples. 

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door in front of him — soon enough, shuffling was heard from the inside and the locks were set loose. 

“Why, hello there!” A woman in her teenage years responded. She looked just like his mom. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

 _Just do it, just do it!_ Chan chanted like a prayer in his head. He shook off his character and tried his best to become the evilest he can get. 

“Nothing, dear.” Lies. “I just picked out these apples from the woods. Would you like to have a taste?”

The woman’s eyes, Snow White, glistened as she excitedly picked out one of the bloody red apples from his basket. She took a small bite and her eyes beamed, and Chan swore he could feel guilt eating him up alive. 

Only a few moments more and Snow White would collapse and Chan would be brought back in his universe. 

Being in Felix’s shoes made him realize a lot of things. He felt bad — he knew Felix wasn’t a bad person. Knowing that this was his fate made him feel things — maybe he shouldn’t force Felix to sign, after all. Besides, they were friends. What kind of friend would let the other live in agony just because it’s set in stone?

Snow White’s body fell, and that was Chan’s queue to go. He felt his hands fading into thin air, and he closed his eyes, ready to be transported in the world where he originally lived. 

For a few moments, it was blank. The void of emptiness starts kicking in. Chan felt nothing; no emotions or thoughts inside his head. Just him and his body, fading in the distance. 

Chan felt his feet hit the ground, and so that was his queue to open his eyes. He was back inside the storybook, together with a few bodies here and there. Most of them were back already. 

Chan counted the heads one by one. _One, Felix. Two, Changbin. Three, Hyunjin. Four, Jeongin. Five, Jisung._

They were supposed to be eight. 

Where was Minho and Seungmin?

“Where’s Minho and Seungmin?”

“Let’s wait for a bit, I guess? Their stories are pretty long.” Hyunjin answered. 

“But time works differently in the other universes?” Jeongin questioned. 

“They do!” Jisung answered, enthusiastically. It was inappropriate, but it was his character. “There must have been a conflict in their story.”

“What conflict would they have?” Felix tapped the side of his chin. 

“They must have done something out of the script?” Jeongin suggested. 

“Wait…” Changbin spoke for the first time. “Isn’t Joy supposed to be part of Seungmin’s story? Joy is the fairy godmother, right?”

“But Chan and Felix’s story functioned just fine even if they switched places. Did you two meet in the other world?”

“No.” The both of them answered. 

“What about Changbin and Jeongin? In Wonderland?” 

“I haven’t seen Changbin there. The original Queen of Hearts was there.” Jeongin replied. 

“But why?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

“No!” Chan exclaimed, startling the rest. 

“Why?”

“We aren’t supposed to mess with the stories?”

“We have messed up since the beginning, Chan.” Felix controlled his voice. “And if you don’t want your best friends back, then stay back here. We aren’t letting anyone get stuck in another universe.”

Felix began to walk towards Seungmin’s book, and so were the others. All of them jumped in, disappearing beneath the pages. Chan grit his teeth and followed the others. 

They all were in the house of Lady Tremaine, Seungmin’s supposed stepmother. They all hid behind the walls as they began to hear the twin sisters, Anastasia and Drizella, have a conversation. 

“The royal family will hold a ball dance later. The prince would find his future wife! Isn’t that so amazing?” Anastasia’s eyes shone under the cheap light bulb above them. 

“One of us should definitely be the future queen of this kingdom.”

“There, there, girls. The ball starts at seven and both of you haven’t prepared yet.”

The two squealed as they headed towards their respective rooms, rummaging through their closet to find a gown that was just right. 

Felix scoffed and that caught the attention of the six of them. He motioned for them to take the small ladders that headed towards the attic. 

“You all can go first.” Felix whispered. “Me, Changbin, and Jeongin would go last.”

The other seemed to understand why — it was because of their clothes. They all began to climb up one by one, lifting their bodies carefully and trying their best to not make any sound. Dust started to stick on their palms, but soon enough they brushed it off quite literally. 

They saw Seungmin scrubbing the floor, and it took all the willpower of Jeongin to not laugh at the situation. Who knew that one of the second most prestigious royals was scrubbing the floor right now?

“Seungmin!” Felix whisper-yelled. “Over here!”

The brunette seemed to hear his call, as they wandered their vision from place to place. Their vision landed on the group, finally — and they heaved a sigh of relief. 

“What are you doing here?”

“You took too long!” Chan told them. “We were wondering if something messed up.”

“There is!” They exclaimed. “Fairy godmother’s not here.”

All of them faced Changbin who had the same, stern expression on her face. “Told you.”

“Well, what are we going to do?” Hyunjin asked. 

“Someone has to play the fairy godmother or we’re all stuck in here.”

“We don’t have the powers of Joy! It will be hard.”

“Joy’s supposed wand is right here.” Seungmin waved the wand grasped on their hand. “Someone, just, please play the fairly odd godmother.”

“I feel like I’m in hex-tention.” Felix ruffled his hair in frustration. “Some just do it.”

“Not me, I’m too tired from all those running from the bears.” Jisung chirped. 

“Same, but it was the queen who chased me.” Jeongin added. 

“Nope, not me.”

“Nah.”

“No—”

“You peasants!” Changbin stood up angrily. “You act like the children of my cinders! If no one does it, I will.” 

All of them stared at her, mouths agape. They never heard Changbin speak so long until this very moment. 

“Give me the wand.” Changbin reached out her hand to Seungmin, who was blatantly staring at her. “Give. Me. The. Wand.”

Seungmin was actually scared of Changbin, (who isn’t, anyway?) and so they complied and handed the wand over her. 

“You must probably know what to get by heart. I don’t know teacups about this whole Cinderella thing.” Changbin murmured. “Pumpkins, lizards or whatever. Go!”

“I’m pretty sure this is not how the story goes.” Hyunjin whispered in Felix’s ear. 

“Me too. But it’s take it or leave it, right?”

They watched Seungmin scrumble as they roamed frantically around the attic, the bucket of water and sponge long forgotten in the middle of the room. 

Fortunately, Seungmin had already finished and collected whatever they had to present. Changbin waved the wand awkwardly muttering a few phrases that sounded so far from the original one. 

“It’s ‘bibbidi-bobbidi-boo,’ Changbin.” Seungmin wavered. 

“Fine, fine.” Changbin rolled her eyes and repeated whatever Seungmin said. A gush of white smoke and sparkled emitted from the wand, encircling Seungmin as they transformed into a princess. The useless and pointless materials Seungmin had bought were now serving as shining and dangling accessories, the pumpkin was thrown outside as it transformed into a pearly white, intricate, carriage. 

Seungmin’s old, rag-like outfit was now a beautiful, blue and mint gown that shone under the cheap light bulbs in the clustered room. Their feet were now covered in glass slippers that were previously bare and dirty from all the things he stepped foot on. Their hair was now a pretty shade of brown, slightly wavy as it well down his forehead. There were a few sparkles here and there, and Changbin managed to call over two butterflies that rested on the crown of his head. Seungmin looked so beautiful. 

For once, a small smile formed in Changbin’s small yet plump lips, and Seungmin swore that she looked extra prettier and queen-like. 

Their heart was beating. From the adrenaline? Sure! From Changbin’s small smile? Maybe. 

Seungmin’s story has now gone by smoothly, them going to the ball and having to dance with a prince. Their story was pretty simple and quicker than all of them expected it to be. Seungmin has now been locked up in the attic as the prince was wondering whose feet will fit the shoe. 

The rest of the students were just all clumped inside the small attic behind a dusty curtain, and Chan couldn’t quite stop sneezing fairy dust, quite literally. 

They all were bored and simply waiting for the pages to turn, Seungmin began singing from the windows. The six of them looked at each other, clearly surprised that Seungmin had such a nasally and soft voice for singing. It could definitely catch the attention of many, hex — maybe Seungmin’s voice would attract more animals than Chan can ever have. 

Changbin felt soft for once in her almost twenty years of living — who knew Seungmin’s voice could melt her icy heart? Changbin would never admit that out aloud, though. 

They heard the door barge open and they immediately knew that was the prince. Their conversation went by smoothly, Seungmin fitting their feet on the glass slipper. 

The prince was about to seal the deal with a soft kiss, yet before their lips could even meet, they all were pulled back into their own universe. The six of them were all stacked within each other, while Seungmin was standing away from them. 

They all brushed off their clothes and stood up, facing the last book and story they had to finish. 

Minho’s. 

They all ran towards the enormous book and jumped inside, their bodies transported in a small, dark room. The walls were made from bricks that possessed the color of a nice, ruby shade — but a tad bit duller. The walls had vines growing all over, and it was all connected to the middle of the room, where a spindle was placed. 

The spindle had a gold color, one of which was shiny and expensive. It was vines wrapped all over and its sharp tip pointed towards the right side of the room, just where Minho was. She was sitting with her eyes closed and right index finger raised, a small piercing on its pad with a few drops of blood dripping from the wound. 

Minho was already sleeping. 

Of course, they couldn’t wait for a hundred years to save her — they had to act now. 

“The prince is definitely not dropping by anytime soon,” Hyunjin stated. “Someone needs to, uh, wake her up.”

“Wake her up? The only thing that can wake Minho up is the kiss kiss fall in love thing.”

“I hate clichés.” Felix scoffed. “Who’s gonna kiss her?”

“The one she loves or who loves her.” Seungmin answered. “And I am definitely not kissing her.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t have feelings for her? Or does she have feelings for me?” Seungmin said as if he was stating the obvious. 

_There’s one person in this room who Minho loves,_ Felix thought but never really said. He cannot give away Minho like that, especially since it looks like he’s the only person she told.

“Is love as friends okay?” Felix mentally slapped himself as he heard Chan speak. “I mean, Minho and I are best friends forever after. It could work, right?”

“Sure!” Felix exclaims, quite too happily. He earned a few questionable looks from the others (apart from Changbin, of course) but paid no mind to it. “Platonic love may work if it’s strong enough.”

“Are you sure?” Seungmin questioned. “I can kiss Minho instead if that works.”

“No!” Felix kept slipping. “I thought you said you don’t want to kiss Minho? I mean, I really think Chan should go first. No offense, but I think Chan’s closer to Minho.”

Seungmin’s eyes narrowed, but they agreed nonetheless. “Okay.”

“Well, then.” Chan awkwardly chuckled and rolled his shoulders back. “Let’s do it now.”

Chan stiffly walked over Minho’s sleeping figure. She had her brown bangs falling over her forehead, her eyelashes resting softly on her cheeks. Her cheeks were tinted a rosy pink, similar to the flowers surrounding them. Chan leaned down, brushing some of her bangs away and tucking in behind his ear. 

He leaned it and closed the gap, his full lips clashing onto Minho’s slowly. It only lasted for a few seconds more than Chan could even acknowledge — Minho already opened her eyes and her vision met Chan’s soft eyes that were shut closed. Minho held Chan’s shoulders and pushed him back by just a bit. 

Before Felix could even retort a comment, all of them were sucked in their original universe. They all felt exhausted and tired — who knew transporting from one fairytale from another was so tiring?

They all found themselves outside the large Storybook of Legends, inside the museum. It was now fully dark outside, but the torches still served its purpose. From a distance, Hyunjin could hear the faint chattering of familiar voices coming near. It was that time where they were about to ‘live’ their destinies (headmaster’s words) and the eight of them were sure that they didn't want to experience that whiplash again. 

All of them gave a look, one that telepathically tells each other that they all had the same plans — all of them started to run, apart from Jisung. 

“Why are you guys running? We can go outside with this door!” Jisung called out, pointing to the door near him which led to the janitor’s room. But then again, he was the Mad Hatter — he can make any door go from place to place. 

The seven halted their steps as they walked near Jisung and he twisted the knob open. They all were outside now. 

The fresh breeze of the evening hit their faces gently, caressing their skin. It felt so nice and cold, similar to how you feel waking up from a long and recharging sleep. 

Jisung, once again, has magically set up a tea table — sometimes, Felix forgets he can do such mad things. There were eight chairs and seven were unoccupied, and it was their queue to take a seat. 

Jisung clapped twice, and fairies began to appear, encircling the eight. They resembled a large halo, falling over the eight angels’ (and supposed ‘devils’) heads.

“Are you all still signing next week?” Jeongin chirped after she sipped on a cup of tea. Felix recognized the tea cups as the ones Jisung showed him earlier that day. 

“Didn’t want to even before that experience.” Hyunjin laughed. 

“Same.” Felix answered. 

“I’m glad I’m not the only one.” Minho admitted, making the rest (apart from Felix) shocked. “Really don’t want to miss a hundred years sleeping when I could just enjoy my life.”

“I kind of like my character, to be honest.” Jisung spoke. “All these mad things and tea parties. It’s hat-tastic! But I really don’t want to be bad and try to deceive Alex in the future or something.” 

“Now to think of it, I don’t want to be chased around by bears either.” Jeongin licked her lips. “Kind of whack, don’t you think?”

“Agreed.” Seungmin laughed. “I really don’t want to be married off to a future king just because my foot fits a slipper. I want to be married to someone I love, and not someone I have to love.”

“Good point.” Hyunjin chirped.

“I guess I really don’t want to sign too.” Changbin spoke. “Do you know how hard kingdom management class is? And keeping a poker face all day like I’m a stone with no emotions. I’m human too!”

It was the first time Changbin did not speak with such authority and blandness in her voice (apart from when she had to chant some ridiculous words earlier). Her facial expression changed from her usual, stone-like expression into a pouty and sad face. Being shocked was an understatement for the seven of them. 

“You actually talk!”

“Of course I do!” Changbin retorted, using a small teaspoon to mix his tea. “I’m just forced to act like a soldier or something. I don’t even know why I should carry this heavy crown on my head all the time!”

“Were you born with your heart on your face?” 

“Yep.” Changbin tilted her face. “I don’t even know why.”

A comfortable silence fell over the eight, but Chan had so many thoughts inside his head. He was the only one who still wanted to sign and follow his fate. 

“Hey,” Minho nudged Chan’s side as she noticed he was spacing out. “You okay?”

“Just thinking.” He replied, his voice hushed. “I still want to sign, I really do; but I don’t really imagine myself doing something else in the future.”

“That’s alright.” Minho chirped. “It’s okay to follow your fate. We’ll support you. And even if you don’t, we’re still here for you.”

“There’s really nothing worth it to have in my lane.” Chan began. “Having a kingdom of my own would be stressful. The idea of marrying someone I don’t really love kind of feels wrong to me too. But I don’t see myself getting successful if I don’t take that path.”

“You’ll never know unless you try.” Minho’s words rolled on her tongue like honey. Sweet and comforting. “You have all the time to think.”

“You think Minho and Chan are talking about what happened earlier?” Felix whispered to Hyunjin as he watched the two. 

“They don’t look like it.”

“Kind of throws me off. They’re my OTP.”

“I thought you liked Chan?” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. 

“Liked. Past tense. I just admired him because he’s so perfect. I have my eyes set on someone else now.”

“Oh?” Hyunjin sipped on his tea. “Who?”

It only took a small cheek kiss for Hyunjin to know the answer. Content smiles were plastered on their faces, void of any fear or doubt. Just pure happiness and contentment. 

Sure, Felix might mess up the chapters of his own story — but who cares? Written in stone or not, if he doesn’t like it, he won’t take it. And he’s glad to influence his newly found friends. 

The eight of them realized a lot of things that night. And Felix was glad to lead them to the road not taken.


End file.
